Mishawaka, IN — The Goshen College women’s soccer team’s 1-3 loss at Mid-Central Conference rival Bethel College on Saturday afternoon was, perhaps, to be expected. With an unrelenting schedule giving a majority-injured Leafs’ team no time to recuperate, head coach Thavisith Mounsithiraj’s squad appeared to simply run out of gas Saturday afternoon, suffering its third straight conference loss of the season.

“Injury continues to plague our play,” Mounsithiraj said following the loss. “We never quite got into our game today. We made some uncharacteristic turnovers in defending our own third that led to easy goals for Bethel. That certainly gave them momentum.”

Goshen (1-9-1, 0-3) made the short trip to the Bethel field playing its fifth match in 10 days and its fourth in six days, not a good prescription for a severely ailing team. In addition to a multitude of other injuries (click here for related article), senior forward Tara Plank and sophomore midfielder Lucy Roth were perhaps the most noticeably hobbled against the Pilots, unable to perform at their usual levels of play. Roth, suffering both a strained foot ligament and a pulled quadriceps and Plank, fighting off bruising and swelling in surgically repaired calves, were unable to give their squad the firepower needed up front.

“Lucy Roth and Tara Plank had to play with injury again today,” Mounsithiraj said. “They were able to get a few good touches but were very limited in terms of their playing time and effectiveness.”

Despite the health troubles, Goshen was able to maintain a scoreless tie through the majority of the first half until ball handling errors deep in their own half of the field proved costly. Bethel got on the board at the game’s 35th minute and again at the 43rd minute to take a 2-0 lead into the half, a deficit far too deep for Mounsithiraj’s team to dig itself out of.

“All of us have to accept our role and responsibility in light of the adversity we are trying to work through with various injuries,” Mounsithiraj said.

After the host Pilots added another goal at the 53rd-minute mark, Goshen was finally able to get on the board thanks to a Bethel foul inside the goal box at the 68th minute. Sophomore Claire Lagerwey was taken down inside the box, and senior Molly Kauffman blasted the resulting penalty kick past the Bethel keeper for her second goal of the season. It was the second of only two recorded shots on goal for Goshen on the afternoon.

“We had a few decent combinations in the middle but were not consistent enough to make any serious threat at their goal,” Mounsithiraj said.

Goshen received a solid effort from its pair of starting defensive freshman, as Amy Clem worked hard in the backfield while classmate Emmy Gibson was again solid in goal. Bethel’s final goal came after an incredible diving save by Gibson thwarted a point blank attempt, only for the ricocheted ball to land at an unmarked Pilot’s foot for an easy tap in score.

Goshen will get absolutely no refuge from the lofty tests in the near future, as 19th-ranked and undefeated Indiana Wesleyan University will visit the Goshen College Soccer Complex Tuesday night. Match time is set for 7 p.m.